Ebb and Flow
by Ayumu Foxtail-chan
Summary: "Making music is a lot like making love, don't you think?" —HarukaxRen


**Hello there! RenxHaruka, although I feel it's unpopular, is my favorite UtaPri ship. They have a unique kind of chemistry to me. :D**

 **Anyway, enjoy! :D**

* * *

 _ **Ebb and Flow**_

It was at two in the morning after just getting a cup of tea that Ren passed by her door. He got up almost nightly at this time, usually waking up after a particularly vivid dream, or out of habit by now. He'd made it routine to get a cup of tea, and go back to bed. It helped calm him and usually made the rest of the night go by in an instant.

He'd also made it part of his routine to pass by Haruka's door on the way back to his room. Why? He wasn't sure if there was a straight answer to that question. Something gave him some sort of peace different than that the tea gave him, to see her door closed, her light off, and nothing but silence coming from within. It meant she was asleep, and most likely content. And that truly did bring him some sort of odd, yet all-encompassing peace.

However, he was taken by surprise this night as he rounded the corner and found a sliver of light peeking out into the hallway from her room. She'd left the door open a crack, most likely. He frowned, peering at the walls for a clock but coming up empty. It was nearly two in the morning, wasn't it? He'd never seen her up this late before. Hopefully something wasn't wrong.

His mind shot to different possibilities, quickly brushing over his first worry that she had a man in her room, and finally settling on that she must've fallen asleep before she turned off the light. It seemed like something she'd do. A smile twitched at his lips as he thought of what a chance this gave him. He'd be the sweet savior who tossed a blanket over her and turned out the light. She'd never know who'd done it, but he hoped her mind would flit to him.

That chance seemed too sweet to pass up.

He took another sip of his tea as he approached her door, leaning to look through the crack. He was surprised to find he'd been completely wrong. Instead, there she sat, at her desk, one hand propping up her head as she scribbled away on the paper in front of her.

Oh? Had late-night inspiration caught ahold of her? His curiosity got the best of him.

With a creak he opened the door enough to fit through. She jumped, whirling around with surprise, however her eyes showing exactly how tired she was. Haruka breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who had come to visit her. "Jinguuji-san?"

"Good evening, Little Lamb," he cooed, quietly closing the door behind him. "Or by now perhaps I should say good morning. What's a lady like yourself doing up so late?" He cocked an eyebrow, taking it upon himself to sit down and give her a little company. He wasn't sure whether she wanted it or not, but something told him that there had to be something bothering her to warrant… writing music at this hour. He peered over her shoulder as he crossed the room. Yes, she was writing music, alright.

"Oh," she said quietly, looking a little embarrassed. "I was just trying to finish up the song Shining-san wanted you guys to perform at the music festival this weekend." She let out a small yawn.

Ren found another chair by her bed, picking it up easily and swiveling it around to sit backwards, just close enough to her desk that he could see the sheet music she was writing. The page had eraser marks and smudges everywhere, and only about a single measure had been written. Although, from what he saw, that measure was a sure-fire start to another one of her chart-topping hits. It seemed she just couldn't write anything that wasn't magical.

He smiled at the thought, taking another sip of tea. "It must be a pretty important song to stay up this late. Wouldn't you have time to finish it tomorrow?" His eyes wandered around her room. Everything screamed Haruka, from the light pink wallpaper to the hanging metal outlines of musical notes. It was small, much smaller than his or any of the other idol's rooms, but comfy. Plus, it smelled a lot like her which easily made it his favorite room in the mansion.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I could… but I'd like to finish it tonight…"

He could tell there was a lot more on her mind than just when she wanted to finish this song, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to infer what it was. With towers of crumpled paper wads around her trashcan, it was clear she was having some trouble with the music. It wasn't like her to have difficulty with a song, and he would've been lying if he'd said he wasn't worried. Not for the outcome of whatever song it was that she wrote, he had full faith that she'd come through for them every time, but for her own sake. She looked exhausted, dark circles dusting under her eyes that seemed a little less bright.

"No need to push yourself, Milady."

She gave him a faint smile. "Oh no, I'm not…" she paused for a second, her eyes wandering back to her music as she let out a sigh. "I just… tomorrow I have to write Syo-kun's solo song for his commercial… and then I still have that duet between Ittoki-kun and Ichinose-san that I've been working on…" She seemed to deflate after each thing she listed. Ah, so she felt a little frazzled and overworked. "Oh, and Camus-senpai needs a background song for a special he's doing, and Hijirikawa-san is supposed to pitch an idea to Shining that he wants a song for… A-and then Cecil-san wanted a song he could sing in an audition for…" She squinted. "For…" As she came up empty she completely collapsed, resting her head on the desk sideways, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears of frustration. She looked up at him, completely helpless, and for once, he wasn't entirely sure what to do.

His eyebrows pinched and he reached forward, taking one of her hands and brushing his thumb across the top. "You needn't push yourself so hard for us. Really, if you need a break, or anything, just let us know. You're a gift to us. Anything you _do_ write for us is just going above and beyond." He wasn't sure if his words would bring her much comfort.

Ren knew she was worked hard as pretty much Saotome's only writer now, after she'd proven herself time and time again as an invaluable asset. However, he guessed with the smiles she would give them and the rate at which she cranked out the songs… he guessed he'd just assumed it all came easy, and she wasn't feeling much, if any, pressure. He'd been inconsiderate, not thinking of what she was going through. Part of his heart sank with the thought, and another part sank as she quickly sat up, blinking back the tears.

Haruka shook her head quickly, pulling her hand from his grasp to hold up as she quickly backtracked. "Oh, oh no you guys really don't have to worry about me; you already have so much to worry about! And I can handle it, I can…" she looked off to the side. "The number of songs really isn't a problem… normally, anyway. It's just… I'm sort of… in a rut?" She gave an awkward laugh. "I guess this is what some call a block?"

Despite her forced smile he could tell she was hurting somewhere deep on the inside. She'd never had something like this before, he could tell by her desperate tone, and it was shaking her in a way she hadn't been shaken before. Yes, the first time an artist went through a block was most likely scary. She probably didn't know whether she'd get over it or not.

He'd gotten in jams of his own in writing lyrics. He'd been so stumped and so disgusted by whatever he _did_ manage to write that he'd throw out the paper, curse to himself, even threaten himself that he'd quit. Of course, he never did. In part thanks to her. Artists eventually got through the frustrating situation of not knowing what to write or do, it just took a while. And the process was usually quite testing.

Ah, so what she needed now was just a little inspiration? She was really forcing the process upon herself by staying up this late. She was probably so frustrated that she'd told herself she wouldn't sleep until she had the song written. At least, it was something he could've seen himself doing, and he could _definitely_ see her doing.

He gave her a slight smile. If it was inspiration she needed, that took a little bit of pressure off of him. He could do something about that… or at least try.

"Mm," he hummed, reaching forward and taking her hand again. She seemed surprised, but he kept steady. "Mental blocks are hard to get through," he sympathized. She looked at him for a moment, her eyes flitting back and forth to both of his before she relaxed, nodding. She looked relieved that he seemed to understand. "All you need to do is relax, Little Lamb," he purred, trying to make his voice as smooth and calming as possible. "Take a step back, breathe, and find some inspiration. You've said before that we inspire you and I'm sure none of us would object to spending more time with such a wonderful woman." He brought her hand to his mouth and gently placed a kiss on the back, his eyes never breaking with hers, even as she flinched, a tint of redness sweeping across her face. He didn't miss it, even in the low lighting of her desk lamp. "At least _I_ wouldn't."

The scent of her skin was intoxicating and it took a bit more control than he would've liked to pull back. He was here to help her, if he could, or at least try his best. Making flirtatious comments or gestures would just fluster her further, and possibly hinder, not help, her block. He needed to leave her be. She was strong; she'd get over it on her own.

Plus, his words seemed to have brought her some comfort. As she pulled her hand back to her lap she gave him a nod, her eyes softer and much more relaxed. He wasn't sure if he'd really said anything transformative, but it appeared it'd been what she needed to hear. "Thank you," she smiled.

He gave her a wink, taking another sip of his tea. "Of course, Milady." He paused for a beat. He should leave… but he did sort of want to give her a little… input. Or at least something that made his inspiration flow, and maybe something that could help hers do the same. Maybe. His eyes flicked over to her sheet music. "Making music is a lot like making love, don't you think?" He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling as her entire body went rigid, another more prominent blush sweeping across her face as she began to stutter incoherently to herself. Ah, yes he'd taken her by surprise. It was amusing, but definitely not helping her any. Very amusing, and the way she fidgeted in her chair made his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

"H-h-how s-so?" she managed to squeak out, her eyes making contact with everything in the room aside from him.

He bit his cheek harder. He should probably leave; he was making her uncomfortable. He let out a sigh, shoving up to stand from his chair. "Well, through music we bare our hearts and souls, do we not? We put them on paper, sing them through words, and give them to the public, who are left to do with it what they may." He carefully set the chair back where he'd found it. "The same is true with making love, my dear. We give ourselves fully to our partner, showing our true emotions and letting who we really are take hold. It's then left in their hands what they do with it; whether they embrace it, whether we're rejected, it's all up to them." His lip twitched as she nodded lightly, still embarrassed. Although, he could tell she was truly listening, and those gears in that pretty little head of hers were turning. "Plus, it's all about the one we love most."

Haruka nodded again. "I-I suppose that's true."

He was glad she seemed to be catching his drift. Although, she seemed painfully uninformed on the subject of making love, even though she was what he'd consider an expert in making music. Perhaps it'd transfer over to whenever she did decide to give herself to a man… that man being him. He wasn't entirely contented with waiting to pursue her, but late on a night when she was struggling with music –what _she_ loved most right now- was not the time to press on the subject, or make any suggestions. Even though that was exactly what he was chomping at the bit to do.

In a single step he was back at her side. He leaned down quickly, swooping in towards her face and gently grabbing her chin with his free hand. "They both also come easy. It's nature, writing music, making love. It's hardwired into our DNA at birth, at least for those of us like you, and myself. It's easy, it's pleasurable, and it's something we can never get off our minds."

He let her go, running a hand through his hair as he straightened. He'd gone and told himself not to fluster her too much, and now here she was about as red as a tomato as she looked down at her lap. It'd just been too tempting. Really, he should leave. Recounting his own views on sex and music just made his own feelings for her reawaken and begin to stir from the bottom up. Although, through the haze of tension he felt in the air, he did notice she looked a little more determined, almost as if somehow he had helped her through his comparison. At least he hoped he had.

He gave her a slight nod of dismissal, biting his tongue and deciding not to speak further on the subject, lest he just rattle her more. He quickly made his way to the door, slipping back out into the hallway and inclining his head back towards her, through the crack. She turned in her chair, looking distracted, yet still very embarrassed.

He winked, quickly taking in the sights and smells of her room once again, hoping that the next time he set foot inside, the situation was different than just a two-AM pep talk. "Whatever you come up with, and whenever you come up with it, it will be perfect." He truly believed so.

She nodded again. "Th-thanks… Jinguuji-san."

He raised his glass slightly to her. "Good night, Little Lamb." With that, he quietly shut her door, his eyes staring at the hallway carpet where her light shone out now, much more dim, from the crack underneath the door.

Ah, that'd definitely been an… interesting turn of events. While he enjoyed seeing her room dark and quiet at nights, he had to admit actually going to see her had been refreshing, in a way. She could always do that to him, although her small and very cute antics were sometimes hard to resist.

He smirked to himself, putting a hand in his pocket and taking another sip of tea as he turned in the direction of his own room. At least he'd been able to help her a little, and by now, he felt like he owed her a lot. Because she was perfect, at least in his eyes, and he was more interested now than ever about what songs she would produce.

Because he knew he'd made at least a shocking impact on her way of thinking when it came to writing music. So now, when he received that new song she'd been working on for them, or him, many times in the future, he knew he could look at that music, and know that making love had probably passed her mind in the creation process. Which while it wasn't as good as progressing towards a relationship with her, where the actual act of making love occurred, it was definitely something that made him feel closer to her.

And now, in listening to that music, he'd get a small insight into what _she_ , the shy and quiet little lamb, interpreted the act of making love into.

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 _The Sinnoh League Challenge - Sangem Town Part 1 - write about a task that seems too big_

 **It's sort of hard to think about RenxHaruka without going a more mature route, to me. Although, I like the sweet moments between them a lot.  
This was just a little random thing that somehow went through my mind after finally watching "Revolutions". I hope I'm not the only one who loves this pairing... and I hope I didn't butcher it too badly. XD**

 **I hope you liked it, and I'd love to hear what you thought! :3**

 **~Foxtail-chan**


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